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Microsoft Office 2007 uses a new file format that can not be opened in previous versions of Office without the installation of additional software. The University moved to Office 2007 in January 2008.
For more information refer to the Office 2007 web page.
Recognising Office 2007 files
Office 2007 files can be recognised by their file extensions which now have an 'x' appended to the end, and are 4 or 5 characters long instead of the old 3 character file extensions:
| Old 2003 filename Extension | New 2007 filename Extension | |
| Word | filename.doc | filename.docx |
| Excel | filename.xls | filename.xlsx |
| Powerpoint | filename.ppt | filename.pptx |
| Access | filename.mdb** | filename.accdb |
| Publisher | filename.pub | no change* |
| Outlook | filename.pst | no change* |
* Publisher and Outlook file extensions have not changed from the 2003 version and are compatible with Office 2007.
** Access files created in Access 2003 can be opened in Access 2007 but the table structures are unable to be modified until the Database has been converted to Access 2007.
A solution that does not require any installation of software is to request the Office 2007 user to save their files in the 'Office 2003' format (See the save Microsoft Office 2007 files as Office 2003 FAQ for more details).
As often we are unable to ask Office 2007 users to do this an Office 2007 compatibility pack is available from Microsoft which enables Office 2003 programs to open Office 2007 files automatically.
The Office 2007 Compatibility pack for Office 2003 users can be downloaded from:
Microsoft's installation instructions can be found at:
Help with installation of the Office 2007
Compatibility Pack
If you would like this installed for you, or can not install it due to requiring Administrator rights, please raise a self service call including your location, contact phone number and the blue plate number of your computer. You can also call the Help Desk on +61 8 8302 5000 and a service call will be raised to your local IT support group.
